Frankfort coffee shop shuttered by back taxes reopens

Flavors Coffeehouse & Deli in downtown Frankfort reopened Monday under new ownership after being ordered to halt retail sales last week due to more than $122,000 in unpaid taxes.
(Photo:
Steven Porter/Journal & Courier
)

Flavors Coffeehouse & Deli in downtown Frankfort reopened Monday under new ownership after being ordered to halt retail sales last week due to unpaid taxes.

Kim Stevens, who co-owned Flavors since it opened in 2008, said she was surprised Wednesday by an order from the state to close shop. She's been working closely with Indiana Department of Revenue for years, she said, to get things straightened out.

"We've done everything that's been asked of us to do," she said. "In fact, we were the ones who went willingly to the state before the state even knew that we had a problem, so it's not like we've waited for them to come hunt us down."

The business paid off more than $122,000 in overdue taxes and fees last month, leaving just $548 in outstanding tax warrants, according to court records.

Tax troubles are nothing new for Flavors. Court records indicate the business paid off more than $41,000 in tax warrants in 2010.

Stevens said the problem snowballed from the day Flavors was founded, when the accounting firm she hired to establish the coffee shop as a limited liability corporation failed to do so.

"It never got incorporated," she said. "It was considered a general partnership."

The situation got more complicated, she said, as her accountants sold their firm — three times in three years.

"By the time we realized what was happening, we were on the third accountant," she said.

Stevens, who serves as executive director of Frankfort Main Street, said the entire situation is unfortunate but that she won't pass off her tax burden onto anyone else — she sold the business name and its assets, not her tax debts, she said.

Kim Dahmen said she and her husband, who own three other businesses, saw an opportunity in Flavors and made an offer late last week.

They plan to keep much of Flavors' current operation intact, she said, but they also hope to incorporate a self-serve frozen yogurt component within a month.

Shan Sheridan, executive director of Clinton County Chamber of Commerce, said he's thankful that Flavors will continue to fill its niche role in Frankfort.

"It's a great asset to have downtown," he said.

The Clinton County Economic Advancement Foundation owns the building that houses Flavors and This & That, a gift shop.

CCEAF President Stan Smith said the foundation will meet Tuesday to discuss a lease or even a purchase agreement with the Dahmens.

Smith and Stevens declined to disclose precisely how much Flavors has been charged in rent, but they said the price has been on-par with going market rates.